The dirty little secret of Windows is that most problems and error messages you get, including the rather horrible blue screen of d.e.a.t.h come from broken, corrupted or missing drivers. All of which can be prevented if you maintain a healthy relationship with your machine and keep the drivers checked and updated regularly.

[Update: WARNING! This is full of malware, even if you Decline all the options on install, it still appears to post malware in the background, SO DO NOT DOWNLOAD OR USE!! Many apologies for our mistake in recommending this.]

Device Doctor is a free Windows app which scans your hardware to see if there are any new updates available for your computer. The program contains a database with over 13 million different computers and devices, so the chances are that your particular requirement will be covered.

The freeware works with all major versions of Windows except Windows 8, and although the forums don’t seem to be very busy right now, the file still downloads and works as it should.

Nigel is the managing editor of the Red Ferret, as well as a freelance columnist for the Sunday Times newspaper in London. Loves tech and fancies himself as a bit of a futurist, but then don’t we all?